One Year Left to Play-Chapter 288 - 99: Only Hard Work Must Not Be Betrayed

Finally getting the ball, Zhang Hao was more cautious, not rushing, taking it slow, protecting the ball, and slowly pushing Pippen back into the left side of the three-second zone with an 8-second backdown that was so boring it made the audience want to nap.

Still no one came to double-team, Zhang Hao thought, is this the confidence of the strongest team?

However, this time pushing Pippen to this position took much more effort than the last possession, taking a deep breath, pushed again, Zhang Hao then shot a turnaround fadeaway...

Scored again!

Seeing this, Jordan was certain, he got dirty... no, his skills were learned by a high school rookie power forward using a Barkley-style backdown!

Bulls on the offensive.

As soon as Jordan received the ball, he was double-teamed. Graham and PJ Brown effectively blocked Jordan's shooting space. Jordan didn't force it, passing to Langley in mid-range.

Langley's mid-range jumper missed, but Rodman grabbed the offensive rebound!

At this point, the Brooklyn Nets' lack of defensive continuity was exposed. Jordan cut inside after bypassing the double-team, received the pass from Rodman, and easily scored with a reverse layup.

Could've just gone straight up, but Jordan's layup was like just for show.

It seemed like both teams scored twice at the start, but the difference was huge!

Jordan, whether shooting or laying up, did it easily, and the Bulls didn't even let Jordan or Pippen play one-on-one, solely relying on cooperation, without even using the triangle offense, easily scoring twice in a row.

But for the Brooklyn Nets, they could only rely on Zhang Hao's solo plays to barely keep up in score at the start.

The Bulls chose not to double-team, and after several possessions, the Brooklyn Nets understood why.

The Bulls' strategy was simple: use Pippen to wear Zhang Hao down!

Using a first-class defensive player and a tactical core to exhaust a rookie seemed unbelievable to outsiders, but that's precisely what the Bulls did.

Zhang Hao played solo for several possessions, hitting 4 out of 6 shots, highly efficient, but also stagnating the Brooklyn Nets' offense right from the start, and when he needed a break, the Brooklyn Nets' offense stalled entirely!

On offense, Pippen didn't need to exert himself. He was at the high arc passing, with Jordan's catch-and-shoot or one-on-one plays, Ron Harper's cuts, Langley's catching and mid-range shooting, Rodman's offensive rebounds...

With the confidence of the Bulls players, their execution was decisive, and it worked!

First letting Zhang Hao play solo, not double-teaming even if they couldn't defend, not only exhausted Zhang Hao physically on offense but when Zhang Hao needed a break, they launched aggressive attacks, also wearing down Zhang Hao's rim protection.

Even against the Brooklyn Nets, the Bulls had targeted strategies and executed them resolutely.

With 7 minutes into the first quarter and entering the timeout stage, the Bulls stretched the score to 20 to 12!

The gap in strength, strategic preparation... was just too big!

In 7 minutes, Zhang Hao wrestled 5 times, shot 3 out of 5, with one fast-break layup, attempted 6 shots in total, significantly exhausted, as he fought hard against Pippen disregarding his physical strength, Randy Whitman had to sub him out.

Even more powerless than against the Utah Jazz! Randy Whitman didn't know what adjustments to make!

If tactics could bridge the strength gap, what would be the point of needing superstars?

But they still had to think of a way! Randy Whitman racked his brains trying to find a chance to win this game, Butch Baird, and Alvan Adams also joined in brainstorming solutions.

They wanted to do something to change their unfavorable situation, not just for this game, hoping to do something to change the status quo. Beating the Bulls would be the best method.

But even with half the timeout over, they still couldn't figure it out...

Butch Baird looked towards a certain number 8 player on the bench sweating and unwilling to disclose his name...

"Aix, come here."

Butch Baird's approach was simple and straightforward, just find the smartest person.

People with strong memory are often considered smart, and Zhang Hao had the strongest memory among the people Butch Baird knew.

"Aix, what do you think we should adjust now?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Zhang Hao widened his eyes looking at his coach - are you trying to pass the buck?

But since the other party sincerely asked, Zhang Hao mercifully thought for a while... no solution... hey, there's a way!

But, this is purely gambling on luck.

Seeing the coaching staff seemingly unable to come up with a way to make up for such a huge gap, Zhang Hao wasn't that worried about making things worse, what's worse than being crushed in the first quarter?

The current rhythm was already heading towards a first-quarter crash.

"Coach, we can do this..."

...

Kenny Anderson, Edwards, Vaughn Fleming, Almon Gilliam, Jason Williams were about to take the court, Zhang Hao went to Almon Gilliam's side.

Zhang Hao showed a puzzled expression and asked, "Almon, are you that timid? I thought you were the toughest guy on our team."

Being called timid, Almon Gilliam didn't mind much, he would usually retort with sharp words, but Zhang Hao's puzzled expression + puzzling question, especially the "sincere" statement afterward, struck a nerve with Almon Gilliam.

"You're the timid one! I am tough!"

"Then why don't you dare to go against Rodman?"

"I..."